


Moving On

by kiss_me_cassie



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Pre-White House (West Wing), Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-04-04
Updated: 2002-04-04
Packaged: 2019-05-15 12:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14790689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/pseuds/kiss_me_cassie
Summary: "At last I can see, life has been patiently waiting for me."





	Moving On

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Moving On**

**Spoilers:** Pre-admin, so ITSOTG and 17P  
 **Summary:** “ _At last I can see, life has been patiently waiting for me_.”  
 **Disclaimers:** The song and title are from Rascal Flatts. All recognizable WW characters are from AS, NBC, et al. Mom, Dad and Bob are mine.

>   
>  _I sold what I could..._  
>  _And packed what I couldn't..._  
>  _Stopped to fill up on my way out of town..._  
>  _I've loved like I should..._  
>  _But lived like I shouldn't..._  
>  _I had to lose everything to find out..._  
>  _Maybe forgiveness will find me..._  
> 
> 
> _somewhere down this road..._

Well, this was it. She was all packed and ready to go. The things she wanted to keep that were too big or that she wouldn’t need were safely stored in her parents’ attic. Some things she had sold or left at the apartment. Everything else was in the trunk of the rental car. She had packed light, knowing that she would be on the road more often than not, and not wanting to have to pay for storage on things she wouldn’t even use. It was better to just take the absolute essentials.

“Are you sure, Honey?” Her dad had been asking the same question every day for almost a week now. She knew he didn’t want to see her go, but it was something she needed to do.

“Yes, Daddy, I am.”

“And you’re sure this fellow you worked for – what’s his name? – is willing to take you back?”

“It’s Josh. And no, I don’t know for sure. I think he will. I hope he will. But it doesn’t matter. I’m going back. And I’ll work it all out when I get there.”

“Doesn’t seem like the smart thing to do. You and Bobby were so good together. I’m sure if you two really talked it out…” His voice trailed off as Donna gave him a look of exasperation.

“No, Daddy! It won’t work. I thought so too, but… it’s not going to happen.” 

>   
>  _I've dealt with my ghosts..._  
>  _And I've Faced all my demons..._  
>  _Finally content with a past I regret..._  
>  _I've found you find strength in your..._  
>  _moments of weakness.._  
>  _For once I'm at peace with myself..._  
>  _I've been burdened with blame_  
>  _trapped in the past for too long..._
> 
> _I'm Moving On....._

It had been one of the hardest decisions of her life. When she first decided to go to New Hampshire to join Governor Bartlet’s campaign, it had been on a whim. She and Bob had been having some problems, and the discovery that he had been taking cash from her carefully saved bank account had been the last straw. But as the month in New Hampshire flew by, she worried that she had been rash. Maybe the money wasn’t such a big deal. They shared an apartment and had been discussing marriage lately. Maybe the money he had borrowed from her savings wasn’t as big a deal as she thought. True, she had been hoping to use that money to return to college, but maybe it was more important that Bob finish his internship first. 

So when Bob called and begged her to reconsider and come home, she had. All of her belongings were still at the apartment. And a small part of her knew that she hadn’t really meant to leave him altogether. If she had, she rationalized, why hadn’t she taken all of her things? So she had told Josh she was leaving, and had begun the long trip back to Wisconsin.

But once she had gotten back home, she realized that the problems she and Bob had were about more than just money. He didn’t respect her or her ideas. He put her down whenever they went out with others. Her friends told her rumors that he was seeing a young nurse at the hospital while she was gone. She hurt her ankle in a minor car accident, and he brushed it off as unimportant. He was a doctor, yet he didn’t care about her injury. And she started to think that maybe this wasn’t where she belonged. Maybe it was best if she left Bob completely. 

Then she saw Governor Bartlet in a press conference on television and any doubts she had about leaving Bob and Wisconsin vanished. She wanted to go back to the campaign. That was where she belonged, learning the rules of politics from Josh and helping to get the Governor elected. She had made several friends there, including Margaret and that new girl from New Jersey; Ginger, she thought her name was. And, strangely, she missed hearing Josh bellow her name. She was eager to get back to work at the busy headquarters.

So she started to pack up all her personal belongings, leaving anything that she and Bob had bought together at the apartment. She talked to Bob and explained that her heart just wasn’t with him anymore. The fact that he barely reacted told her she was making the right decision. And then she talked with her parents and hoped that they understood.

>   
>  _I've lived in this place..._  
>  _and I know all the faces_  
>  _Each one is different..._  
>  _but they're always the same_  
>  _They mean me no harm but it's time that I face it..._  
>  _They'll never allow me to change..._  
>  _But I never dreamed home would end up..._  
>  _where I don't belong..._
> 
> _I'm Moving On..._

Which brought her to this point, standing outside her parents’ home, saying goodbye to her father. Her mother thought she should stay. She was old-fashioned and believed that, no matter what, Donna should stay to work things out with Bob, despite what Donna had told her about the money and lack of respect. When Donna told her no, she had refused to say goodbye or participate in this morning’s activities. Her dad, at least, was trying to understand.

“Good luck, Honey. Call us when you get there. And if that fellow – Josh – won’t take you back, you call us and we’ll send you some money, either to come home or to set yourself up there until you find something else. We’ll miss you.”

“Thank you, Daddy. I’m going to miss you, too. But I know this is the right thing to do now. I belong with everyone at that campaign. I made a real difference while I was there. And Josh can use all the help I can give him – his office is a mess.” She gave him one last hug and climbed behind the wheel of the car.

As she started the long drive down the highway, she thought about all that happened between January and April. She’d left her lover of 5 years, joined a presidential campaign, came back to try and reconcile with her lover and now was headed back to the campaign. She didn’t know what would happen once she got back there. Maybe they would welcome her back with open arms. Maybe they would act like she had never left at all. Maybe they would refuse to take her back. But it didn’t matter. What mattered is that she knew it was time to leave Wisconsin and childhood behind. Past time. She’d grown past what she had been and was ready to make a new start to her life. It was time to move on.

>   
>  _I'm Moving On..._  
>  _At last I can see..._  
>  _Life has been patiently waiting for me..._  
>  _And I know there's no guarantees..._  
>  _But, I'm not alone_
> 
> _There comes a time in everyone's life_  
>  _When all you can see are the years passing by_  
>  _And I have made up my mind..._  
>  _that those days are gone..._
> 
> _I sold what I could..._  
>  _And packed what I couldn't..._  
>  _Stopped to fill up on my way out of town..._  
>  _I've loved like I should..._  
>  _But lived like I shouldn't..._  
>  _I had to lose everything to find out..._  
>  _Maybe forgiveness will find me..._  
>  _somewhere down this road..._
> 
> _I'm Moving On_  
>  _I'm Moving On_  
>  _I'm Moving On_


End file.
